Another Earth-Size Planet Could Be Lurking In the Solar System

Scientists from the University of Arizona have discovered a new Earth-like world that could be orbiting the Sun in the outer solar system further than Pluto. The unusual star that has a mass the size of the Earth and Mars could be hanging in the Kuiper Belt, a region full of icy asteroids and dwarf planets bordering Neptune.

Another group last year foretold the likely existence of a new planet the size of a Neptune that orbits the sun about 25 times farther than Pluto. The planet was named ‘Planet Nine’. If any of these findings are correct then the solar system could be having more than 10 planets. The discoveries continue to emerge as scientists try to prove the previous theories that there could be other planets lurking somewhere in the space that could sustain life just like the Earth.

A team of researchers is currently examining four newly found moving objects to predict any prospective new solar breakthroughs. Some groups are also studying the prospect of 10th plane With increasing advancements in technology, researchers are optimistic that the latest equipment will enable them to determine whether the planet-size object spotted in Kuiper Belt could be another planet.

In Chile, there is a construction of a Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which will help scientists to scrutinize the Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) more closely. There are many planetary-mass objects in the space that are not yet discovered. Some are too far or dim for any powerful equipment to observe them.

The new LSST telescope that will cover the sky more expansively than the current assessment apparatus, it should discover the objects closely and determine their magnitude. LSST should be able to largely increase the number of the previously spotted KBOs from 2000 to 40,000 in total number.

Kuiper Belt is filled with icy substances and has trillions of tiny objects that are mostly the remnants of the past solar system. The scientists have predicted the existence of larger planets in this area that could exist beyond Neptune planet.